Comptroller Kevin Lembo commended the state Senate for voting today in favor
of a financially self-sustaining retirement savings program that could serve
nearly 600,000 private-sector workers in Connecticut who currently have no
access to workplace-based retirement savings.

The state House of Representatives approved the measure last week, so the
legislation is now headed to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for signature.

Lembo, as co-chair of the Connecticut Retirement Security Board (CRSB) that
studied and drafted the proposal, says this action follows substantial market
research and broad input from the public, legal experts, academics and business
community.

Today's vote also follows public support from business owners,
representatives of the financial services industry and many others, Lembo said.

"There is an entire generation of employees, many of them lifelong
hardworking middle class people, who are headed to retirement financially
unequipped, in part due to lack of access to a workplace-based retirement
savings option," Lembo said. "This is not simply a serious issue for those
individuals and families who are financially forced to delay retirement
indefinitely - but for our entire state economy.

"I am grateful for the support by members of both the Senate and House of
Representatives - and especially thank CRSB co-chair state Treasurer Denise L.
Nappier, state Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, state House Majority
Leader Joe Aresimowicz, Labor Committee co-chairs state Sen. Edwin A. Gomes and
Rep. Peter Tercyak, the AARP and the members of the CRSB for their work on the
proposal.

"I strongly believe that a private-sector solution should be the first answer
to this challenge - but the market is currently failing to reach nearly half of
our workforce. Implementation of this program will actually push many businesses
out into the private market. In fact, in the market feasibility study survey of
Connecticut employers, approximately half of the employers said that - should
the program be implemented - they would go out into the private market."

An Act Creating the Connecticut Retirement Security Program, H.B. 5591, would
create a new quasi-public entity responsible for implementing a retirement
savings program through contracts with private-sector providers. The proposed
program would not be mandatory for businesses that currently already offer a
401K plan or other workplace-based savings option to its employees; it would not
require that participating employers contribute to the program (only that they
provide a payroll deduction mechanism for employees to contribute); and employee
participation would be strictly voluntary (they would be automatically enrolled,
but can opt out if they prefer - and will have 120 days of communication,
education and notice before enrollment).

"The goal is not to compete with or replace the private market, but to
fulfill a significant unmet need in the market that must be answered for the
sake of those families and our entire state economy," Lembo said.